Pathfinder I
Let’s be honest; Roof Top Tent- Yay or Nay?
- Thread starter Wanderlost
- Start date
We decided to change things up a bit. Sold all our other toys, the travel trailer, the Xterra, and consolidated everything into one do it all package.
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Enthusiast III
I had a similar setup (some time ago using a toyota 4x4 and a lightweight skamper pop-up truck camper) back in the day, and it has remained one of my favorite setups of all time. Always ready, fit anywhere, drive everywhere camping rig. If I didn't have to fit a growing family, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Pathfinder I
Pathfinder I
It's a Four Wheel Camper, Hawk model. I opted out of the cassette toilet as it takes up too much space. I have a great porta-potti that fits inside a cabinet. I have an out door shower (there is an inside option but I had no interest in that), hot and cold running water, stove, furnace, queen size bed, 2 person dinette that folds down to a 2 dog bed. It has everything we need.
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Enthusiast III
I absolutely love my RTT. I went with the Tepui Kukenam 3 and it has been fantastic. Much more comfortable, more easily deployed as well. If I decide I want to go vehicle exploring it takes about 8 minutes to close up and drive away. No regrets on my part. Some shots from a recent trip to the UP of Michigan. The really funny thing is, after my trip I took it off assuming gas milage had suffered with it installed. There was no difference in milage , it's going back on top.
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I think it really depends on what you are coming from, not everyone "upgrades" from a ground tent to a RTT. We used to ground tent (backpacking and car camping) and decided a few years ago with a crying baby, in the rain, on a leaking mattress that we wanted an upgrade. We decided if we were going to spend money on a trailer that we wanted a good trailer we could use comfortably year round until our kids were grown and ended up with a 30' Arctic Fox 4-season trailer. We were excited that there would be no more packing up to go camping, just hook up to the trailer and go any time of year... well we didn't have that trailer a year before we decided to sell it! We did drag it through some places it didn't belong but still our options of where to go were very limited and it was rattling apart from the abuse we were putting it through, plus even though it was a 4-season trailer I neglected to think that towing an 8000# trailer over snowy mountain passes and finding anywhere outside of a handful of plowed campgrounds to actually set up camp was not going to happen. Ultimately it was far too restricting and just not for us, so we downsized to a pop-up tent trailer (traditional type, not a RTT on a trailer).
The tent trailer was great for us, truthfully I miss it sometimes especially if we are setting up camp in the same location for a while. We didn't have to pay to store it somewhere although it did take up our parking space, we could drag it almost anywhere I could drive my 1 ton truck, it opened up for a beautiful breeze with all the windows open, the only real draw back was setting it up and taking it down all the time was a bit of a pain. It had a little fridge and a furnace which was nice on colder nights. We never cooked inside, we never sat at the table inside, I think only once we set our kid up coloring at the table inside to be out of the sun and bugs but otherwise we only ever slept in there which got me thinking...
Hey, I've seen these sweet tents that go up on the roof. They just pop open and that's it, you're done! All we ever do is sleep in the trailer, if we get one of those instead we don't have to pull around a trailer anymore and we won't have to set it up and take it down all the time to pack, unpack or move sites, it just flips closed and away you go!
WRONG! LOL
I do enjoy our RTT and it has a lot going for it, but it's by no means perfect for us. As I seem to have proven, there is no perfect option and there will always be compromises. Overall I am happy to be up off the ground vs tent camping (for multiple reasons) and I am happy to not be towing a trailer. Our RTT is also much cheaper than a trailer, although I'm not sure I could justify the cost of some of the more expensive models when you consider the cost of a used tent trailer is less. Packing up our tent is nowhere near as easy as I had hoped it would be, but that is partially because it is up on such a high roof. It would be easier on a lower vehicle or trailer and I'm sure a hardshell RTT would be much more convenient however they are more expensive and, more importantly, I could not find one as big as our 6'x8' clamshell tent which we wanted as my wife likes her space to sleep and our daughter is a VERY squirmy sleeper :)
It's hard to say if we'd spend the money for a RTT if we were still using our ground tent regularly. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably opt to stick with a good, big ground tent and invest in nice cots or a better mattress. Having come from the other end of the spectrum though, I think we'll leave the ground tent for backpacking!
Also, nobody with a tent in their vehicle waves at you when you drive by with a tent in your vehicle... haha
The tent trailer was great for us, truthfully I miss it sometimes especially if we are setting up camp in the same location for a while. We didn't have to pay to store it somewhere although it did take up our parking space, we could drag it almost anywhere I could drive my 1 ton truck, it opened up for a beautiful breeze with all the windows open, the only real draw back was setting it up and taking it down all the time was a bit of a pain. It had a little fridge and a furnace which was nice on colder nights. We never cooked inside, we never sat at the table inside, I think only once we set our kid up coloring at the table inside to be out of the sun and bugs but otherwise we only ever slept in there which got me thinking...
Hey, I've seen these sweet tents that go up on the roof. They just pop open and that's it, you're done! All we ever do is sleep in the trailer, if we get one of those instead we don't have to pull around a trailer anymore and we won't have to set it up and take it down all the time to pack, unpack or move sites, it just flips closed and away you go!
WRONG! LOL
I do enjoy our RTT and it has a lot going for it, but it's by no means perfect for us. As I seem to have proven, there is no perfect option and there will always be compromises. Overall I am happy to be up off the ground vs tent camping (for multiple reasons) and I am happy to not be towing a trailer. Our RTT is also much cheaper than a trailer, although I'm not sure I could justify the cost of some of the more expensive models when you consider the cost of a used tent trailer is less. Packing up our tent is nowhere near as easy as I had hoped it would be, but that is partially because it is up on such a high roof. It would be easier on a lower vehicle or trailer and I'm sure a hardshell RTT would be much more convenient however they are more expensive and, more importantly, I could not find one as big as our 6'x8' clamshell tent which we wanted as my wife likes her space to sleep and our daughter is a VERY squirmy sleeper :)
It's hard to say if we'd spend the money for a RTT if we were still using our ground tent regularly. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably opt to stick with a good, big ground tent and invest in nice cots or a better mattress. Having come from the other end of the spectrum though, I think we'll leave the ground tent for backpacking!
Also, nobody with a tent in their vehicle waves at you when you drive by with a tent in your vehicle... haha
Enthusiast III
I like the RTT idea, and if I had a trailer to put it on, absolutely. But I'll stay with the ground tent for now as like the others have said, I like to be able to set up camp and head out. Plus with 2 80+ pound Labs I don't think my Back would be too happy.
Unless the RTT Hoist gets invented.
Unless the RTT Hoist gets invented.
It's funny, this post had me all caught up in my thoughts about our RTT and what I do and don't like about our current set up and then my wife tells me she wants to go to the beach with our daughter and camp a night or two with her while I'm away at work. She's too short to set up and pack down our RTT by herself... DOPE! Another consideration if you are on the fence about it.
Enthusiast III
I bought my roof top tent last summer in prep for a ten week drive around the country. Before that many years of backpacking(which I still do)/ground tent camping.
The RTT is on my daily driver and won't fit in my garage. And I don't care, honestly. For me, it's that useful.
I take a lot of weekend trips, and it's nice to be able to leave the night before, drive until I'm tired, find a campground (or the occasional WalMart parking lot), pop the tent, go to sleep. Wake up, close the tent, and hit the road.
I do have a hardshell, so set up and tear down is quick and easy. Two or three minutes on either end.
I get that it won't work for anyone. But it's about perfect for me.
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The RTT is on my daily driver and won't fit in my garage. And I don't care, honestly. For me, it's that useful.
I take a lot of weekend trips, and it's nice to be able to leave the night before, drive until I'm tired, find a campground (or the occasional WalMart parking lot), pop the tent, go to sleep. Wake up, close the tent, and hit the road.
I do have a hardshell, so set up and tear down is quick and easy. Two or three minutes on either end.
I get that it won't work for anyone. But it's about perfect for me.
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Traveler III
I love my RTT, but I also keep mine on my trailer. I like setting up camp and then exploring the area by vehicle, or foot depending on where I am.
With that said, pulling a trailer and setting up a RTT is a bit more time consuming(it’s not 5 min like those YouTube videos claim). So, if I’m only going for one night I’ll generally leave the trailer at home and set up my ARB Touring room on my awning of the Jeep-love this setup! I use this with a cot and it’s awesome- BUT now I don’t have the option of driving around in my vehicle. It’s a trade off.
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With that said, pulling a trailer and setting up a RTT is a bit more time consuming(it’s not 5 min like those YouTube videos claim). So, if I’m only going for one night I’ll generally leave the trailer at home and set up my ARB Touring room on my awning of the Jeep-love this setup! I use this with a cot and it’s awesome- BUT now I don’t have the option of driving around in my vehicle. It’s a trade off.
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Cliff's Notes: RTT mounted to a trailer...awesome! RTT mounted to a vehicle...not so awesome...at least for us, anyway.
I have tried the following, in the last 25 or so years of camping...and here's my favorites in order:
1) Expedition Trailer with sleeping quarters (see profile pic)
2) Pop-up camper on a pickup
3) Roof-top Tent on my Jeep
4) Hammock w/ rain fly
5) Ground Tent w/ cots
By far, my favorite is the Expedition Trailer with the sleeping quarters. I took an old Sears-Roebuck car-camping pop-up trailer from the 70's, fitted it to a 1/2 ton truck frame (which someone had already converted to a utility trailer), put larger tires on it, and towed it on multiple trips, one of them being 14k miles. Other than the setup-time being slightly longer than the RTT, the Expedition trailer was the answer for me, due to the flexibility of pulling the pin, and leaving it behind for the day...and WAY more storage than trying to shove everything into one vehicle.
The RTT was a bit of a pain to set up, due to how high it was on the roof of my Jeep...had to keep climbing on and off the Jeep to get the cover off/on...and it was AWFUL in windstorms...rocking the entire Jeep around. I even had the clamshell try to close on me one night, when the wind got under the ladder-side and kept moving it under my feet. One burst of wind actually lodged the end of the ladder against my rear bumper, and I had to climb out to reset it down...which is easily fixed by a ratchet strap to hold it down...but education is expensive, and I didn't know what I didn't know, lol. It also sucked having to take a leak in the middle of the night for me and the wife, both. Lastly, it caused a substantial fuel range reduction when mounted on the Jeep and I kept whacking it on tree branches. (I can see an RTT working REALLY nicely mounted on a trailer...but on the roof of my vehicle, no thank you. Sold it off after a few years of use...didn't love that configuration in the slightest!)
Our pop-up truck camper was a huge improvement over the RTT, but was also too tall and kept hitting tree branches and such...just like the RTT...but was WAY more comfortable than the RTT was...and gave a TON of room to cook, eat, work on my laptop, and sleep. For wide-open areas without low-hanging trees...still my favorite.
Last week I purchased a fairly rare (8' full-size bed version) FlipPac for my Dodge Cummins, and will give that a shot (haven't refurbed it yet...), but may well sell it off and go back to towing the trailer instead if I don't fall in love with the FlipPac...since I loved the trailer so much.
I have tried the following, in the last 25 or so years of camping...and here's my favorites in order:
1) Expedition Trailer with sleeping quarters (see profile pic)
2) Pop-up camper on a pickup
3) Roof-top Tent on my Jeep
4) Hammock w/ rain fly
5) Ground Tent w/ cots
By far, my favorite is the Expedition Trailer with the sleeping quarters. I took an old Sears-Roebuck car-camping pop-up trailer from the 70's, fitted it to a 1/2 ton truck frame (which someone had already converted to a utility trailer), put larger tires on it, and towed it on multiple trips, one of them being 14k miles. Other than the setup-time being slightly longer than the RTT, the Expedition trailer was the answer for me, due to the flexibility of pulling the pin, and leaving it behind for the day...and WAY more storage than trying to shove everything into one vehicle.
The RTT was a bit of a pain to set up, due to how high it was on the roof of my Jeep...had to keep climbing on and off the Jeep to get the cover off/on...and it was AWFUL in windstorms...rocking the entire Jeep around. I even had the clamshell try to close on me one night, when the wind got under the ladder-side and kept moving it under my feet. One burst of wind actually lodged the end of the ladder against my rear bumper, and I had to climb out to reset it down...which is easily fixed by a ratchet strap to hold it down...but education is expensive, and I didn't know what I didn't know, lol. It also sucked having to take a leak in the middle of the night for me and the wife, both. Lastly, it caused a substantial fuel range reduction when mounted on the Jeep and I kept whacking it on tree branches. (I can see an RTT working REALLY nicely mounted on a trailer...but on the roof of my vehicle, no thank you. Sold it off after a few years of use...didn't love that configuration in the slightest!)
Our pop-up truck camper was a huge improvement over the RTT, but was also too tall and kept hitting tree branches and such...just like the RTT...but was WAY more comfortable than the RTT was...and gave a TON of room to cook, eat, work on my laptop, and sleep. For wide-open areas without low-hanging trees...still my favorite.
Last week I purchased a fairly rare (8' full-size bed version) FlipPac for my Dodge Cummins, and will give that a shot (haven't refurbed it yet...), but may well sell it off and go back to towing the trailer instead if I don't fall in love with the FlipPac...since I loved the trailer so much.
Apparently when I edited my post to add a pic, it deleted the original post so I will re-summarize my thoughts.
I've backpacked and camped a LOT of my years. I've slept in everything from ultralight setups only using a bivy bag to tarp camping, ground tents of all kinds, hammocks, and now two totally different styles of RTT. I really like the ability to be able to camp off of the ground, no matter the ground conditions, as long as I can get the vehicle reasonably level (which I do with my recovery boards for now). Everything has pros and cons, sleeping off of the ground has more pros than cons for me, but they are expensive (which I see as their only major drawback).
I switched from a soft style RTT to hard because I wanted to be able to setup my tent more quickly than I could the soft. I can setup my entire camp in the time it took to setup my soft style RTT, and I can break down the hard shell tent about 15 minutes faster as well. For what I do, it just fits well. Someday I will have a trailer to carry my dual sport and hopefully I can mount my RTT to that, but until then it stays on the truck.
This picture is a perfect example of why I wanted a RTT. This is in Mark Twain National Forest, there was very little in the way of decent campsites and it was already dark when we setup camp. It's a bit difficult to see but the area is completely covered in a lot of young growth, and forgive me for not being a botanist, but these thorny growths EVERYWHERE! We did everything we could to make a semi-comfortable spot between the trucks to cook and eat but they were out of control! I ended up cooking food and getting into my RTT for reprieve from the weather and the plant life! I'm normally not worried about the animal life, though I have woken up with a rat snake nice and comfortable underneath my tent and my sleeping pad, but that's really a non-factor for me. Off camber spots, thorns everywhere, very young tree growth saturating the area, and I still camped and slept very comfortably in October rain and 40 degree temps without issue. A ground tent wouldn't have been anywhere near as convenient or quick, and definitely running a risk of punctures, even with a good ground cloth/footprint.
I've backpacked and camped a LOT of my years. I've slept in everything from ultralight setups only using a bivy bag to tarp camping, ground tents of all kinds, hammocks, and now two totally different styles of RTT. I really like the ability to be able to camp off of the ground, no matter the ground conditions, as long as I can get the vehicle reasonably level (which I do with my recovery boards for now). Everything has pros and cons, sleeping off of the ground has more pros than cons for me, but they are expensive (which I see as their only major drawback).
I switched from a soft style RTT to hard because I wanted to be able to setup my tent more quickly than I could the soft. I can setup my entire camp in the time it took to setup my soft style RTT, and I can break down the hard shell tent about 15 minutes faster as well. For what I do, it just fits well. Someday I will have a trailer to carry my dual sport and hopefully I can mount my RTT to that, but until then it stays on the truck.
This picture is a perfect example of why I wanted a RTT. This is in Mark Twain National Forest, there was very little in the way of decent campsites and it was already dark when we setup camp. It's a bit difficult to see but the area is completely covered in a lot of young growth, and forgive me for not being a botanist, but these thorny growths EVERYWHERE! We did everything we could to make a semi-comfortable spot between the trucks to cook and eat but they were out of control! I ended up cooking food and getting into my RTT for reprieve from the weather and the plant life! I'm normally not worried about the animal life, though I have woken up with a rat snake nice and comfortable underneath my tent and my sleeping pad, but that's really a non-factor for me. Off camber spots, thorns everywhere, very young tree growth saturating the area, and I still camped and slept very comfortably in October rain and 40 degree temps without issue. A ground tent wouldn't have been anywhere near as convenient or quick, and definitely running a risk of punctures, even with a good ground cloth/footprint.
Enthusiast III
By no means am I trying to discount Kevin's offroad's experience with a RTT , i would encourage anyone looking into the purchase to find someone with on locally and see if they have the opportunity to show you set up and tear down. I have experienced zero of the problems Kevin's off-road has. The RTT has been wonderful for my uses. If anyone is on the fence and in the DFW Texas area let me know I would be more than willing to show mine. For reference a Tepui Kukenam 3.
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Enthusiast III
Nice offer, that's what this forum is for. I'll happy show and discuss my tent to anyone in the DC area. AluCab Gen 3By no means am I trying to discount Kevin's offroad's experience with a RTT , i would encourage anyone looking into the purchase to find someone with on locally and see if they have the opportunity to show you set up and tear down. I have experienced zero of the problems Kevin's off-road has. The RTT has been wonderful for my uses. If anyone is on the fence and in the DFW Texas area let me know I would be more than willing to show mine. For reference a Tepui Kukenam 3.
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Off-Road Ranger I
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I've tried just about every option except an Earth Crusier/Land Roamer/Custom 6x luxury house on wheels - okay there are probably dozens or thousands of options I haven't tried but here's what I have tried.
(warning - becoming an author has made me a very verbose old codger)
RTTs are great - and really annoying. Camping with friends? - RTT is fantastic, it's an excuse to let someone else drive - or mabye you're just staying put. I Have one, I like not having to find resonable ground, or tripping over guylines. Doesn't matter if the ground is wet, don't have to worry about bugs, and critters. I'm apparently a confirmed bachelor for life so it's just me - and maybe a dog (but not yet). At almost 62 I don't have to worry about climbing up and down in the middle of the night when a gallon jug works fine. For photograhy it's about as useful as shooting a 4x5 on a motorcycle (yeah I did that too). Make camp - sleep, get up 2 hours before sunrise, break camp close up the tent - pack everything and hope you make it to your spot for pre-sunrise. Alternatively - ignore sunrise shots, which is where I ended up. I'd have been better off with an RTT on a trailer - sometimes. In campgrouds I don't think it matters because I'm not leaving all that gear unattended. In the wild - no problem.
Back of a Subaru Outback- yeah, that's not happing again. It might have worked if that had been the plan and I was prepped for it - (see ground tents).
Back of the Jeep Rubicon Unlimited - much better than the Outback but has two of the same problems - in winter it's like sleeping in an icebox all that metal and glass just sucks heat away. You have to keep the windows cracked and it never fails - it's either blowing dust, rain, or snow (okay it's failed to do that a few times, but who remembers those?)
Back of the Pickup Truck - can be okay - a cot helps - a canopy would have helped too but I don't really like them. I'm thinking about adding something like (if not the) Leightner Active Cargo rack - and slinging a Blackbird XLC hammock with rainfly if I can get it to fit (just a thought at the moment). Self leveling, warm enough for winter camping (with quilts) cool with a bug net for summers. Easy to take down. Light weight - does require a full size pickup - or well maybe not I'm not sure - it's still just sort of a vague notion. Thought about one of those truck bed tents but - I don't know - the usefulness of the rack seems like a better choice.
RTT on a Trailer - very cool option, almost the best of both worlds - except more tires, more spares, harder maeuvering, and your still climbing a ladder, all sorts of storage space, more capacity for awnings, more battery power, just more... have not owned one, but I did nap in one.
Overland Teardrop - possibly better, as long as your not clostrophobic - no climing. You lose some packing space - what are you bringing all that stuff anyway? - most of the same issues as the RTT on Trailer. Have slept in a standard tear drop, not an offroad version but I like these. I wouldn't rule out the Oregon Trail'R Teardrop Alpha - but I'm not rushing to get one either (well, if I had my ducks in a row instead of spread out all over the place, then maybe I would)
Ground tent - hmm wet/muddy ground, no flat spaces, too many low branches above the only flat ground. Small tent - laying on the sleeping bag to get dressed, big tent - needs more flag ground - generally more overhead clearance. Coming back and finding something just shy of a tornado ripped your tent from the ground and dragged it though the thickets and now it's mostly shredded - not so much fun. Big tents can be really comfortable in a good spot. ground tents save a lot of weight and money. I Love big canvas tents - warm when you want them warm, cool(ish) when it's hot, lots of room - but a pain to clear ground, and a pain to pack wet, and a pain to dry out if you had to pack it wet. My Kifaru Sawtooth with Stove - great in the winter, pretty darn good in the high desert - sucks in the summer (can't seem to get enough ventilation.) and if the ground is wet - well - it has not floor so there you go.
4x4 Van - really cool, not a great dailly driver if you have a commute. Expesive. I came within days of Ordering a Sportsmobile back in 98 - Sort of wish I'd done it - but I just couldn't swing the cost. Really should have five years later when I could have afforeded it no problem.
Never tried -but wouldn't mind: 4x4 UniMog/Fuso/??? big overlander - major comfort, convenience, capabilites are extensive, so is the price and the mantenance costs.
Pick your poison. There is no perfect - there is just the potential for really excellent for how you do it.
(warning - becoming an author has made me a very verbose old codger)
RTTs are great - and really annoying. Camping with friends? - RTT is fantastic, it's an excuse to let someone else drive - or mabye you're just staying put. I Have one, I like not having to find resonable ground, or tripping over guylines. Doesn't matter if the ground is wet, don't have to worry about bugs, and critters. I'm apparently a confirmed bachelor for life so it's just me - and maybe a dog (but not yet). At almost 62 I don't have to worry about climbing up and down in the middle of the night when a gallon jug works fine. For photograhy it's about as useful as shooting a 4x5 on a motorcycle (yeah I did that too). Make camp - sleep, get up 2 hours before sunrise, break camp close up the tent - pack everything and hope you make it to your spot for pre-sunrise. Alternatively - ignore sunrise shots, which is where I ended up. I'd have been better off with an RTT on a trailer - sometimes. In campgrouds I don't think it matters because I'm not leaving all that gear unattended. In the wild - no problem.
Back of a Subaru Outback- yeah, that's not happing again. It might have worked if that had been the plan and I was prepped for it - (see ground tents).
Back of the Jeep Rubicon Unlimited - much better than the Outback but has two of the same problems - in winter it's like sleeping in an icebox all that metal and glass just sucks heat away. You have to keep the windows cracked and it never fails - it's either blowing dust, rain, or snow (okay it's failed to do that a few times, but who remembers those?)
Back of the Pickup Truck - can be okay - a cot helps - a canopy would have helped too but I don't really like them. I'm thinking about adding something like (if not the) Leightner Active Cargo rack - and slinging a Blackbird XLC hammock with rainfly if I can get it to fit (just a thought at the moment). Self leveling, warm enough for winter camping (with quilts) cool with a bug net for summers. Easy to take down. Light weight - does require a full size pickup - or well maybe not I'm not sure - it's still just sort of a vague notion. Thought about one of those truck bed tents but - I don't know - the usefulness of the rack seems like a better choice.
RTT on a Trailer - very cool option, almost the best of both worlds - except more tires, more spares, harder maeuvering, and your still climbing a ladder, all sorts of storage space, more capacity for awnings, more battery power, just more... have not owned one, but I did nap in one.
Overland Teardrop - possibly better, as long as your not clostrophobic - no climing. You lose some packing space - what are you bringing all that stuff anyway? - most of the same issues as the RTT on Trailer. Have slept in a standard tear drop, not an offroad version but I like these. I wouldn't rule out the Oregon Trail'R Teardrop Alpha - but I'm not rushing to get one either (well, if I had my ducks in a row instead of spread out all over the place, then maybe I would)
Ground tent - hmm wet/muddy ground, no flat spaces, too many low branches above the only flat ground. Small tent - laying on the sleeping bag to get dressed, big tent - needs more flag ground - generally more overhead clearance. Coming back and finding something just shy of a tornado ripped your tent from the ground and dragged it though the thickets and now it's mostly shredded - not so much fun. Big tents can be really comfortable in a good spot. ground tents save a lot of weight and money. I Love big canvas tents - warm when you want them warm, cool(ish) when it's hot, lots of room - but a pain to clear ground, and a pain to pack wet, and a pain to dry out if you had to pack it wet. My Kifaru Sawtooth with Stove - great in the winter, pretty darn good in the high desert - sucks in the summer (can't seem to get enough ventilation.) and if the ground is wet - well - it has not floor so there you go.
4x4 Van - really cool, not a great dailly driver if you have a commute. Expesive. I came within days of Ordering a Sportsmobile back in 98 - Sort of wish I'd done it - but I just couldn't swing the cost. Really should have five years later when I could have afforeded it no problem.
Never tried -but wouldn't mind: 4x4 UniMog/Fuso/??? big overlander - major comfort, convenience, capabilites are extensive, so is the price and the mantenance costs.
Pick your poison. There is no perfect - there is just the potential for really excellent for how you do it.
Advocate II
Have you actually tried and used all of these options? You should start a thread really breaking down all of them and sharing your experiences with them. So much of this world is niche, it’s often hard to find first person experiences with a style upgrade or change you’re considering. I for one would love to hear about all those experiences of yours. Sounds like you have a wealth of knowledge!
Traveler III
